Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together
by iviscrit
Summary: Zaheer has just broken out of prison, and he's getting his merry band of anarchists back together. As he busts each member out, they reminisce about the good old days when they first met, and the events that made them join the Red Lotus. Ships include Mingzan and Poetic Combustion, obviously. Season 3 compliant.
1. Chapter 1

_Red Lotus fanfic, for haimako_

* * *

"It's nice to see you again, Ghazan." Zaheer removed the White Lotus helmet and grasped the taller man's arm.

"Thanks for busting me out," Ghazan said. "Where'd you pick up the new skills?"

"I have Harmonic Convergence to thank for that. I was given a gift. I believe it's a sign that our path is a righteous one," Zaheer replied. "I'll brief you on the boat ride to the Fire Nation."

Ghazan rolled his eyes. "Never thought I'd miss that old pretentiousness, but I did," he said, clapping Zaheer on the shoulder as he swung over the side of the boat. "What do we do with the ship? The guards managed to send up a flare before I took them out."

"We'll have to sink it."

Ghazan's eyes narrowed, his lips curling upwards in a smile. "Finally." The lava shuriken spun between his fingers, and Zaheer watched as his old friend destroyed the hull of the wooden ship, the water rushing in as the guards began to stir.

o0o

"So did you say we're going to the Fire Nation?" Ghazan asked, propping himself up on his elbows. "Shouldn't we stop by the colonies first? I could go for a shirt, you know.. the tattoos are pretty memorable."

"We have a ways to go before we'll be anywhere near a village where it's safe to stop," Zaheer replied. "A lot has changed in these past thirteen years. Some of the Earth Kingdom states are flourishing, while others are still floundering in illiteracy, and the queen is little better than a tyrant." He glanced at Ghazan. "It's going to be difficult to get back in touch with other members of the Red Lotus."

"Yeah, that's not obvious at all," Ghazan said easily. "But really, Fire Nation? We're not going to bust out your girlfriend first?"

Zaheer smiled. "P'li won't have to wait long once we've picked up Ming Hua."

"Thirteen years and still going strong, huh?"

"When it's there, it's there." He frowned. "How long has it been?"

Ghazan looked thoughtful, stretching his arms behind his head. "Since she joined our team? Well, if we don't count our imprisonment, nine years. If we do, it's a total of twenty-two years."

"A quarter of our life together," Zaheer smiled, "and most of it was spent apart."

"Twenty-two years, five months, and seventeen days," Ghazan said to himself slowly, counting on his fingers. "Of course, the months and days are subject to change, since I don't know how long it'll take us to rescue her..."

Zaheer stared. "You kept track of the months and days?"

"You're not the only romantic on this ship, man."

Zaheer laughed, turning back to the prow of the motorboat. "Remember when we first found her? That woman was crazy."

"She still is." Ghazan smiled to himself. "Remember how she joined us? Sweet sixteen and already with a record for the books..."

o0o

Ghazan began the trek back to the campsite, arms sore from the buckets of water yoked over his shoulders. "Zaheer? Got the water," he yelled. "Next time you're taking care of this crap, my hands have seen way better days..."

"Stop complaining like a pampered aristocrat," Zaheer called from their camp. "Just wrap the handles already."

"I'm using a yoke," he retorted. "Got tired of slicing my palms open every time."

"That wouldn't have happened if you had wrapped the damn handles to begin with."

"Wrapping the handles is for pussies." He had reached their campsite at last, unceremoniously depositing the buckets on the ground. Some of the water sloshed out onto Zaheer's feet. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"There are White Lotus members being quartered in the town just west of where we are," Zaheer said, expression darkening. "The avatar is probably on the way to the Western Provinces."

"I mean... economic upheaval and all," Ghazan said, shrugging. "Bringing... stability, or something."

"Or something," Zaheer agreed. "If Avatar Aang needs a full entourage just for a visit to the poorest provinces of the Earth Kingdom, there's something seriously wrong with the White Lotus organization."

Ghazan sat down heavily with a sigh. "Look, I get that it's frustrating, but I'm more interested in getting to a safe town and starting a proper life. A year of wandering around is more than enough for me. I'd like to live in one place without constantly being driven out as a street urchin for once, you know. We can't keep out of prison forever at this rate."

"Ghazan, I've been thinking." Zaheer looked at the crackling flames, bright against the dimming backdrop of dusk. "There's an organization I've wanted to join for a while now."

"How long is 'a while'?"

"The past couple of years or so," Zaheer said slowly. "Not long after we left the refugee camp together, I met a member of an underground society-"

"Was this after you orchestrated the murder of that warlord in Yai, or before that?" Ghazan poked the coals of the fire with a stick.

"After," Zaheer said. "Their network is larger than you'd imagine, Ghazan. They're recruiting, and they need people with my skill sets."

"So pretentious dickbags with a penchant for scheming and weaponless murder are in high demand there, huh?" He punched Zaheer's shoulder affectionately.

"Everything I've done outside the law had very justifiable reasons and you know it," he said, smiling. "But the Red Lotus is organized and could use both of our talents."

"Is that a branch of the White Lotus?" Ghazan said, idly bending the coals of the dying fire into lava. "I'm not getting involved in that crap-"

"No, it's made up of dissenters from the White Lotus," Zaheer said. "The founder, Xai Bau, was tired of the organization becoming a glorified army of personal bodyguards for the avatar. It's give us the stability that you want, Ghazan. We'd probably still have to travel a fair amount, and I'll understand if you don't want to join with me, but thanks to them and a few of the jobs I've taken on for them we've been able to survive. Just think about it-"

"Hey," Ghazan said said gently, clapping him on the shoulder, "I've got your back, bro. If you really think this is something that'd be good for us, I trust your judgement." He bended a slope of earth into a back rest. "There's something I wanted to ask you, though."

"Yeah?"

"When I was further west, I saw this girl...I've seen her in that area for the past few weeks, actually."

Zaheer groaned. "Oh no.. did you give away my location?"

"No," Ghazan snapped, cheeks reddening, "but if the Red Lotus is recruiting young up-and-coming idealogues with special talents, we need to get her on the team."

"Is she trustworthy?" Zaheer said skeptically. "Why are you so interested in her? On a scale of one to ten, how hot is she?"

"Oh, she's a wild card," Ghazan said, smiling at the memory. "She doesn't have arms, but she can waterbend in ways I never knew to be possible. She took out three troops from that tyrant of a governor's militia in under five minutes-"

"How many did you take out?"

"Four, but that was only to help her out," Ghazan said dismissively. "You're missing the point. I think we can trust her."

Zaheer sighed. "You don't even know her. I bet you don't even know her name. Again, on a scale of one to ten, how-"

"Ming Hua," Ghazan said, smiling. "And before you ask again, she's a solid 8."

"Where is she now?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure she was captured," Ghazan said, his smile fading a bit. "Loitering and manslaughter or something. Haven't seen her for the past couple of days. But breaking her out shouldn't be too hard. I've talked to her, bro. She's like us. She's had a rough time, and she's just trying to survive."

"Fine. We're going to go save your girlfriend." Zaheer said, unrolling a pallet. "Get some sleep, we'll bust her out and tell the Red Lotus we're joining them tomorrow."

"She's not my girlfriend," Ghazan said, cooling the lava and extinguishing the fire. "Yet."

* * *

**A/N: My little sisters have been begging for this crap for so long now. I'm thinking this is gonna be a three-parter. In the flashback, Zaheer is about 18 and Ghazan is 16, since they joined the Red Lotus as teenagers. Basically, this is how the band got together. Reviews make my day. Cookies to anyone who caught the easter eggs. ;) **


	2. Chapter 2

The volcanic prison was hot.

Magma bubbled beneath them in the gaping crater of the volcano's belly, with flares that shot up into the sulfurous air at random. Zaheer was undeterred by the natural prison and the guards that populated it, careening through the air with the grace of some kind of diabolical wolf bat. Ghazan felt a grin stretching his mouth into a grotesque leer; the hot, dry air was invigorating. He stretched out a hand experimentally, feeling for the molten earth feet beneath them.

A flare of magma shot up under his command. His eyes settled on the suspended steel cage, and he launched himself off the jutting precipice of pumice stone, dodging an attack from one of the guards and firing back with a wave of magma..

It wasn't long before their efforts had detained the White Lotus guards and had split a barrel of water over Ming Hua's prison. Zaheer shot overhead, and for a moment the wooden barrel hung suspended in time, waiting for the water to be released. Ghazan fired off two discs of lava, and as they met their mark he almost could smell the burning wood. The contents emptied over her, she was bathed in a cascade of shimmering heat waves and a column of water that ceased its flow once it engulfed her. The water swelled, the borders of the liquid seemed to blur, and suddenly Ming Hua was grinning, her posture a little straighter and her eyes considerably more alive. Her signature twin vortexes of water sprouted from her shoulders, and he knew that he and Zaheer could step back and let her claim her own vengeance. With water, Ming Hua was the farthest thing from a damsel in need of saving.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see your ugly mugs again," she said, flipping her inky hair out of her face with a toss of her head, newly freed of her prison. It hadn't taken long to break the bars, and Ghazan was reminded of old times.

"It's good to see you too, Ming Hua," Ghazan said, grinning. Zaheer was silent, but his stance and his smile made it clear the sentiments were felt on his end as well.

"I'm flattered," she said with a smirk, turning to Zaheer. "You saved me before your girlfriend."

"We're going for her next," he replied. "Our next stop is the North Pole."

"Pretty cold up there," Ghazan added, sidling closer. "You might have to get used to huddling to share heat."

Ming Hua slapped him across the face with one of the water tentacles, her grin broadening when he spluttered in indignation. "I'll do just fine."

"She's still got it," he said to Zaheer, shrugging the wet hair off his shoulders. "We should clear out and save the catching up for the road, though. They'll send reinforcements sooner than we want. Climb on," he said, nodding to Ming Hua as Zaheer bounded up the steep walls of the volcanic prison, using the jutting rocks as points of liftoff.

"No thanks." Without another word she was soaring through the air, the pillars of water extending past her body and consuming her as she shot up the pumice and mangled steel. Thirteen years of dehydration had culminated in a new age for her, and her new arms looked like a new beginning.

Ghazan could only smile before he threw the incapacitated guards over the ledge and followed her up, the heat from the stones suddenly inconsequential to the thin soles of his shoes.

"Just like old times," Zaheer said, hands troublingly loose on the wheel of the appropriated jeep. "Ghazan talking about Ming Hua the whole way to prison, Ming Hua threatening the driver with an ice dagger… thank you for the shave, by the way. It feels good to get back to our true purpose. I have ample reason to believe our path is a righteous one."

"I'll say," Ming Hua observed. "How'd you pick up airbending?"

"Harmonic Convergence changed many things," Zaheer said, a smile at the corners of his mouth. "It's our chance to ensure these changes are permanent, and for the better."

"Yeah, he hasn't changed a bit," Ghazan said conspiratorially. "Still spouts off the philosophical crap, like we're listening."

"Neither have you," she observed. "I remember the first time you busted me out."

"Fondly?"

"Something like that."

o0o

"I can't believe I'm going along with this. Why did I agree to go along with this? You don't even know this girl."

"Because we're bros, man. Calm down. We've got this." Ghazan glanced over his shoulder at his friend. Zaheer was still glowering. Despite standing head and shoulders above him, it has hard to not feel intimidated by the young man's intensity. "If it works… I'll… I can wingman for you?"

"_You've_ got this," Zaheer said crossly, ignoring the last bit. "In case you've forgotten, only one of us is a bender."

"Yeah, well... you planned this thing. You've lost all confidence in the one thing you do better than literally everyone?" Ghazan pointed out. "Relax. We'll bust her out, and then it's off to the Red Lotus."

"If we don't get killed," Zaheer muttered, his eyes narrowing as he watched the lone guard leave the building entrance. "So, they're holding her in there? You're positive?"

"Oh yeah. Dead certain."

The building in question was a fortified tower, three stories above the ground with steel structuring. The walls were cut-stone, and a cursory once-over made it clear that they wouldn't be turned to lava very easily. The stone blocks were heavy and of a dusty lime, a chemical composition that Ghazan had little experience with, and a quick scope of the prison foundation made it clear that they had been erected over a metal framework.

"So," Zaheer said, evidently having noticed the worry that had flickered over his face, "not as easy as you thought."

"I never said it would be easy."

"You said 'we've got this!' minutes ago."

"I was trying to keep morale up, okay?" Ghazan crossed his arms and shifted his stance, feeling through the earth for something that would prove effective. "What do you think I should do?"

"Beside turn around and get ready to join the Red Lotus? I think you should try melting the earth beneath the prison." Zaheer wore the pensive expression that Ghazan knew all too well. It was the face that heralded the birth of a new scheme, the face that preceded a night of stolen rations, and the face that he had come to associate with brotherly affection. "Only way to get your girlfriend out."

"Won't that put her in danger?" Ghazan said hesitantly. "I can't feel anything in there. I mean, I know she's tiny, but-"

"They'll have her suspended," Zaheer said, nodding slowly. "There's a spring near her prison, isn't there? They want to make sure she only has access to the water they give her to drink."

He looked at his friend in puzzlement. "How do you know there's a spring?"

"I don't need bending to know a water recharge area when I see one," Zaheer said. "I'll handle the guards, you melt the foundations."

"Won't that make the building cave in?"

Zaheer sighed. "Don't you trust me?"

"Yeah." The following events seemed to take much longer than they actually did. A well-placed projectile floored the two guards who had come to relieve the first of their shift, and Zaheer made short work of tying them up. Ghazan assessed the layout of the building, sending out a pulse from the foot he planted in the clay. "Zaheer… we have a situation."

"What?"

"There aren't any prisoners in here."

"She's not going to be on the ground," his friend said irritably. "I told you, I know a water recharge area when I see one."

"So… you want me to make this cave in when you know she's suspended on a top story?" Ghazan said incredulously. "We're supposed to be _helping_ her-"

The sound of more guards approaching cut short their squabble, and forced Zaheer's recommended maneuver, albeit differently than the original plan. As the men closed in around them and a barrage of arrows from crude crossbows descended, Ghazan erected a barricade and a cloud of dust, nodding tightly to Zaheer before melting the periphery into a moat of lava. The cries of alarm were unmistakeable, and he extended the lava to the foundations of the building. "You're _sure _about this?"

"Completely," Zaheer called back. "I'd estimate five minutes for us to salvage this. Extend from the west corner, and the walls will fall outward."

Ghazan obliged, his shoulders and core aching in protest as he channeled the bulk of his heat into the earth. He could feel the particles of ground shifting under his command, could feel the crystal matrix of the solids shivering and breaking free of their rigid bonds. Earthbending was supposed to be steady, assured, and unflexible, but every time he manipulated the earth like liquid, he felt a new appreciation for the fluidity and focus the waterbenders had mastered.

The west wall of the prison fell first, then the second. The foundation was a lake of bubbling lava, and the fumes from the combusting limestone were choking. Zaheer was dealing with the warlord's guards who had managed to breach the moat- benders were evidently among their ranks- and Ghazan remembered with a start that he was atop a water reservoir.

"I hope you're as smart as you sound," he muttered under his breath, and following the plan Zaheer had carefully outlined for the thousandth time moments prior, he pivoted his hands in a drilling motion. The lava seemed to swell before it caved into the ground, the topsoil and clay melting before it as it disappeared deep below like a little beacon.

The water came rushing up moments later. Ghazan's jubilant shout died in his throat, replaced by a little sputter of awe as he beheld the groundwater first recede, then flow like a river over the molten ground and into the dark remains of the prison.

"Zaheer!" he called excitedly, jumping into the fray just as his friend was overwhelmed. He dodged a spear, blocked a boulder, and pulled one of the three soldiers off the other boy. "I think- you were right, she-"

"Is she going to help, or not?"

"This isn't helping," the familiar, cold little voice said, and both the boys and the guards paused in their scuffle. "This is about _revenge_."

Her torso ended in narrow shoulders with no limbs to speak of, her inky hair was lank and in need of a wash, and her build was slight. She couldn't have been much over five feet in height, or sixteen years in age, but her eyes glinted with a sociopathic malevolence that left Zaheer uncomfortable and left Ghazan with a dazed grin.

"You… have arms again," Ghazan supplied helpfully.

Ming Hua commanded a frightening amount of water, a smooth column of liquid extending from each shoulder as naturally as any proper limb. She didn't reply, instead opting to sweep both arms out, the ends of the tentacles hardening into jagged ice before they collided with their adversaries. Another swell of water bore her over the moat, and the two boys stood in impressed silence as the ground shuddered beneath them and the small well Ghazan had made exploded into a gushing reservoir of Ming Hua's preferred weapon.

The guards were first engulfed, and then frozen in place. Ming Hua wasted little time in freezing the end of her tentacle into a blade, and the gleam from the evening sun gave it a grim sense of finality. "Let's see how much use I can get out of this," she said, a cruel grin in her voice and on her face. "That's what you said, warden, when you threw me on top of a water reservoir. Regretting that now?"

"She can't be serious," Zaheer said in disgust. "_You_ can't be serious. How am I supposed to trust that she won't come after us next?"

"Ming Hua," Ghazan said, already behind her and trying to grab her shoulder. His hand passed through the water, and he shrugged. "Listen, we busted you out. Just.. do me a favor and leave these men alone. You can come with me and Zaheer-"

"She's not _invited_ yet!"

"-and join an organization that'll definitely have use for your talents," he pressed. "You won't have to deal with prison again."

Ming Hua arched a brow. "I'm not invited. And I'll be fine on my own. But thanks for coming to get me, I'm flattered. Never thought I'd be so happy to see _your_ ugly mug again."

Ghazan grinned, raising his eyebrows as he met Zaheer's eyes. "You could get used to it. Why won't you join? We work pretty well together."

"If I can be convinced that my throat won't be slit in my sleep," Zaheer interjected, holding up his hands before gesturing for them to follow him out of the area, "you can join. I have to admit I thought Ghazan was exaggerating about your abilities when he told me about you." He gave his friend a dirty look. "She's not a hard eight. With this personality? More like a four."

"I'm still here," she pointed out, but her tone had lightened. "Talking about me, hmm?"

"More than I needed to hear," Zaheer said. "But I think you'd have a place in the Red Lotus, even if you didn't work with us. I'm tired of seeing this country polarizing into the urban centers of oligarchy and the rural feudal systems. And I'm tired of the avatar's entourage bringing grief to me. The amount of concessions made for someone who claimed to be a simple monk…"

"What my friend is saying," Ghazan said, sensing another anarchist spiel in the works, "is that you're talented, and an incredible bender, and he thinks you should join the Red Lotus with us." He paused. "You value your freedom. I -we- wouldn't tie you down, Ming Hua. We're on the same page, I know we are."

She tossed her hair. "I need a bath. Why would I stay with a couple of teenage boys? I can't trust you to not look."

"Is that all?" he said delightedly. "Zaheer, she's down to join!"

Zaheer groaned. "I hope you're happy. I hope for your sake you don't act like a pervert and try to sneak a view, either."

"I'd put his eyes out," Ming Hua said sweetly, smacking Ghazan across the face with a tentacle. "Go ahead and try, Ghazan."

Ghazan only grinned as he trailed behind them. "I knew she'd be the perfect addition to the team, man. Maybe we can find another bender, round out the trifecta."

"If we recruit a firebender," Zaheer said with finality, "then I'm choosing. No more potential sociopaths. How many times have you done that ice blade trick?"

"Take a guess," she said slyly.

"Fine," Ghazan conceded, ignoring the bickering. "Just make sure you have good taste, too."

"Don't insult me. You know I only go for the best."

**A/N: ARE YOU HAPPY, TWINS? I FORCED IT OUT. FINALLY. Next up, P'li! **


End file.
